Thanks for keeping is in the loop Steve. I for one, as a wrench turner, envy your ability to have the option not to turn the wrench. thats why i dont care who built it. i usually like it more when an owner did all his own work, but this case is diffrent. this car, to me, represents what a C3 could be. its about breaking records, and showing that good 'ol american horsepower is alive and kicking. and kicking hard at that. one more reason i dont care that you didnt do the mechanical work on it, is you went in to completly uncharted territory with everything. there is such a small ammout of dual blower setups, and how many have you seen in a vette? ive only read about one. I personally have never seen any of the custom stuff you've done installed in a street car. my only claim about the car being too over the top, is the horsepower its putting out. it blows my mind how powerful that thing is, and that it runs on pump gas. the easiest way to make that car %100 streetable FOR ME is to remove 1 or both of the blowers and raise compression. thats the only way i could own that car and not get in trouble. i could not handle 1200+ hp sitting under my lead foot. im sure i could learn to handle it, but it would take alot of parking lot practice. and just because i think the horsepower is a little :crazy:, dosent mean i would have it any other way. im still young, and i still love high horsepower cars. there isnt a thing i dislike about Merlin. i wish the mods would delete rusties post and the posts after it, because the bickering is stupid. there are people that love Merlin, and people who hate it. everyone has thier own reasons. its basically an exotic. alot of people hate Lamborghinis, but i love em. i think all the :boxing does is create tension between forum members who might have been great friends otherwise. man, this post is long. im gonna stop now :D

 

P.S. I added another fiber channel to the house & killed the vids until the auctions have ended. In the past 3 days of posting, I estimate folks have pulled around 50 terabytes of data out of here. That is crazy! Anyway, I can't tell inside if it is faster or not, so some feedback would be helpful. It should be noticeably faster....

 

Woah! way better Steve! its loading like it should now.

 

Thanks Ben! :cheers: And thanks for sticking up for me.

 

Hey Steve - I just sent you an e-mail :yesnod:

:cheers:

 

This may sound a little corny but I would like to say a few words in Steve's defense. I have met Steve and talked with him a few times. You can tell right away that he is a very intelligent person. You can also tell right away that he is a very friendly person that has a good sense of humor.

I first met Steve when he was getting started with this project and I tried to offer my "experience" and convince him to not start out with such a radical motor. I felt it would be better to put a grunter motor in the car to get all the bugs worked out and then go for the big motor. We had a 3-4 hour conversation at Pacific Corvette and I covered everything that I felt he was doing wrong with the project. I pointed out that his claims of having a street car that would out handle anything, run 9's in the quarter, and go over 200mph would be impossible to achieve with a C3 chassis on the street tires he was using. He listened intently and we bantered back and forth on a few issues. When the conversation was all through he thanked me for my time and went on his way.

He did not listen to one thing I suggested! Instead he continued in the exact same direction that he started on and didn't seem to be phased in the least. My opinion of him changed at that time. This man was on a mission and no one was going to sideline him. How incredibly admirable. No bitterness towards me, just more incentive for him to complete the car and prove me wrong.

Steve may not have the hands on mechanical ability(or desire) but he can definitely research parts as well as anyone I have ever met. He also has a very good head for design. I believe that everything on this car was designed by him. To me there are two incredible features to this car. One is how the hood integrates with the blowers and the other is the extremely attractive roll bars. Perfect!

Sure, Steve has written all the checks for the car but the car has been built under his guidance and supervision. I take my hat off to someone that has the patience to spend 3 years with two separate companies while moving the car back and forth between them. To my knowledge, he still has excellent relationships with both companies. How many people would be able to accomplish that? He suffered many setbacks with both companies and kept a positive attitude.

I truly am disappointed that Steve is selling the car. When he told me I asked him if there was anything I could do or say to convince him not to. As you now know, there is nothing that can be done. He has made up his mind to sell the car, pure and simple. I was looking forward to Steve bringing the car over to my house to run on the DynoJet. I wanted to see some incredible numbers. Alas, this is not meant to be. Steve doesn't want to risk hurting the car while he is trying to sell it. This I understand.

To summarize, Steve does not deserve any kind of attacks about this car whatsoever. When he first got the car running he called me and said "I don't care if this car is the best handling, quickest, or fastest anymore. I am just happy that the car is finally running and I can drive and enjoy it." He never mentioned anything about proving everyone wrong who had doubted him. What we have here is a very positive person that had a dream and finished it.

Steve


[Modified by 542C2, 6:16 AM 12/13/2002]

 

I think everyone here has respect for Merlin, well exept for that ignorant fool who always sticks his negative comments in every single thread he posts. Steve's a good guy and I really hope the 522 project stays in a CF family or at least with someone who can actually respect the car.

 

By the way, Steve, how serious are you about keeping the car if your reserve is not met?





[Modified by 542C2, 6:24 AM 12/13/2002]

 

542C2 - Thanks Steve. I don't know what to say, I'm speechless. When I first met you I figured we would butt heads for life. Looking back, I wished I had listened to you more, but like you said - I was a man on a mission. Now, here's an interesting tidbit for you. I am starting to fall back in love with the car again. I pulled it up at work today & just stared at it for a while. You have to remember, I've been so deep in the forest with this thing, I had no idea what the trees even looked like. Posting it on eBay has been an amazing release for me. I just won a 3,600 hour project for next year which is awesome news. If you can believe it, a guy approached me in the hall as I was heading to the bathroom. I had never seen this guy before in my life, but he asked for me by name. Really blew my mind. The lesson to the young programmers out there is kick butt & make a name for yourself. I don’t think Boeing could get rid of me now if they tried, but you never know. Anyway, I was feeling very positive after that I really sat down to look at the car. There are so few body styles that are really original & sexy. The Murcielago, for example, just doesn’t do it for me. I would never buy that car – no matter how fast it is. Cars like the 360 Spyder, Diablo roadster, Viper, BMW 850. They are unique & timeless. I put the C-3 in that same category. It just looks mean sitting there. Having looked at the car & realized how sweet it looks, I felt a renewed sense of loyalty to it. I guess it’s been a love hate relationship. Also, you would not believe the amazing emails I have received. My inbox has over 300 emails from people commenting on the car. I like the Viper, but it would never attract that much attention. I’m starting to think crazy thoughts like - rip out the drive train, call up Hughes, Tom’s and go to town. Then you & I sit there on the dyno & have some serious fun. I still wish I could really wind this thing up on the dyno & see what it’s good for. Look, my Viper is cranking close to 500 HP. The Vette makes the Viper feel like a Flintstone mobile running under foot power. The Vette is easily twice the power & more than likely close to 3 times just as it sits. Make you a deal. I’m heading down to Pacific tomorrow. We have the car back there to put the plate on it. If you feel up for a quick spin, why don’t you come on down. You know powerful cars as well as anyone here. I’m eager to see your reaction & finally check out that beast of a C-2. Merlin may not be dead yet! Now I guess I have to hope nobody wins it!! Either way, I’ll be happy. Thanks again Steve. You’re a real quality person.

 

no prob, its not really that its you, becuse truly, i only know you as far as you have let CF know. i just get pissed off when people bash other peoples ideas. When it comes to massive power and great corvettes anyway. im always down for a good ricer bashing though! I defineatly consider you a good friend Steve, but i will stick up for anyone in the same prediciment. its that kind of crap that makes people not want to share there projects, and sometimes not even complete them. Ive gotten some flak and i know how much it sucks when you dont have anyone on your side. i have a feeling Frank (Stingraycrazy) is going to get some :bs too, and im already buddies with him. 20" wheels and 2 turbos can cause some grief for all the "Practical" people out there :D GroovyJay, Monty, 69MyWay, Markus and many others have recieved alot of crap, but for some reason you really hit a nerve with people that do all their own work, and others that think you speant way to much. i think its because of the magnitude of the project, but other than that im not sure why.

i just dont want to seem like im sucking up to guy with the cash and the nice car, because thats not what im about. whenever ive asked you a question, youve been polite, quick with your response, and extremely friendly offering advice i may never have recieved from anyone else. (who else has done anything like this?) When i first learned of your project, i figgured you for a yuppie. i asked a few questions, that you had probably answered 100 times, but you answered each one wih great detail and talked to me like i was a good friend, not some schmuck on the internet (im not saying im not :lol:) so i feel its my duty to treat you as you have treated me. I mean, its not like im getting a cupon good for one free drive of Merlin... am I? :D :jester :lol:

another reason is i know i will be pissing of the more practical people with my vette when completed and i want to have some guys on my side :D :jester

:cheers: Steve, i hope you reconsider selling, and go gung-ho on the interior (Maybe McLaren F1 style? :D) and keep the vette, but if you dont i wont be hurt. i know ill see it arround, and ive already had a great time reading about it. im just glad you kept posting about it after all the :bs you get. i learned 1000 times more about it here, then i would in any mag it will be in. and i would like to think that I, in some small way, participated in this event. after all you have your chapter in history, and its always good to be in the footnotes :D i think its called "Reflected Glory" :lol: :jester

 

Well said Ben! P.S. You may be getting a Richmond ROD sooner than you think ;) :cheers:

 

Do I detect a *****(sp?) in your armor? Go ahead and pull the car off of eBay and keep it! Remember what I told you about Vipers? I had a 1997 GTS that would literally stop traffic. I would bet you that if you pulled up next to a Viper on the street, people would not even notice the Viper. It would be as if the Viper was not there! You have a one of a kind, period.

Your C3 has sooo much sex appeal that all it would take for you would be a few more drives and you will probably keep it for sure.

So, what do you say? Keep the car, put a little more money in it, and enjoy the hell out of it. To me, this would be the fitting end to your dream. Or just the beginning to another.

Have Bill or Bob call me at my office tomorrow when you arrive at Pacific.

Steve

 

If you guys could post pictures of 542C2 and Merlin side by side, it would be greatly appreciated.

You can have your mugs in the photo as well :lol:

 

Wha Wha Wha!?!?! :eek: :lol: hmmm... i like where this is going! :lol: :jester
now i have to sabatoge the ebay auction... :lol: :jester just kidding. :D please tell me your teasing if you are :sad i got a reply from Rich about his 72, and i may still consider selling my vette to buy his, but if i can get a manual in it by spring, theres no way ill sell mine! 350hp+a rod + 4.11/3.55 rear end = enough fun to keep me happy for a long time. :smash:

 

I have so many ****** in my armor, I should change my user name to SwissCheese522! Hey, I’m willing to stand up & admit that maybe I panicked a little. When one is told that he is being yanked off a job like I have, one tends to panic. Things seem to be normalizing. That doesn’t change the fact that I am going to be one busy **** next year. If I do decide to keep it & it doesn’t sell, I will likely trade the Viper in for a Hummer H2. That thing has my name written all over it. Completely impractical. WAY too huge to be useful & just plain old scary looking. The Vette could be driven daily, but I would have all white hairs by the end of this year. Maybe I’ll just keep it as my sunny day show off car & then have the Hummer for my “practical” daily driver. I’m not going to pull the auction. That is not honorable. If someone wins it fair & square, it is theirs. If not, I’m now leaning towards keeping it. I can always run it in the Dupont Registry myself with some absurd price tag on it & drive it at the same time. Alright shootmit!! Let’s talk about Toms & Hughes 4L80E tomorrow. How the hell do I let you people talk me into this stuff? You are persistant, I’ll give you that!! I guess the problem is deep down inside, I know you are right. :yesnod:

 

:iagree: I have to agree. you have gone leaps and bounds, and i would much rather see you owning it than someone who knows nothing about it.

 

:iagree: had to agree with this one too :D we will need some gratitous engine shots. :smash:

 

Could I get a ride in the H2 steve? :jester

 

John - I'll bring my digital down there tomorrow & we'll get some pics. SteveB will be at work, so I don't know which car he'll have but we'll see.

Ben - I have this funny feeling in my brain right now. I've read so many crazy emails over the past few days, you would not believe it. Everything from "I'm the God of all car builders" to "hey, why don't you spend some of that money on liposuction so you can fit in the car, fat a-s-s!". Like Steve B said, I'm as stuborn as a mule. When someone tells me I can't do something, that is a guarantee that I will find a way to make it happen. If I do, what I am considering, then I will make you an offer the ROD you can't refuse. I'm actually very impressed with the ROD. It's way smoother than I thought. Do they make a 7,000 rpm stall converter? :D

 

theanswriz42, i have to know... whats this spamed by troy roberts thing? :lol: